Authorities on Monday filed unlawful sexual intercourse charges against two Covina high school teachers accused of giving cocaine and alcohol to underage students on a camping trip at a San Clemente beach.Melody Suzanne Lippert, 38, of Covina and Michelle Louise Ghirelli, 30, of West Covina were both originally charged with a misdeme

Two Orange County legislators introduced bills Monday in Sacramento seeking to let Saddleback Memorial Medical Center San Clemente establish a stand-alone emergency room. The bills – SB-787 by State Sen. Patricia Bates and AB-911 by Assemblyman Bill Brough – are in response to a proposal by MemorialCare Health System, owner of

SAN CLEMENTE – We often celebrate a baby’s first steps but think little about preserving the ones that could be our last.
Walking, as Troyce Thome sees it, is more than the basic left, right, left or the mechanical heel strike, toe touch and weight shift.
“Independent movement is independent living,” said

In December, as 21-year-old Gabriel Medina battled to be crowned surfing’s newest champion on the North Shore of Oahu, millions in his native Brazil stayed glued not to their TVs, but to their tablets, laptops and mobile phones.
An average of more than 6.2 million people tuned in live to watch the Billabong Pipe Masters, where Medi

A homeless man, dubbed the "2K Bandit," recently pleaded guilty to a dozen bank heists in Orange County during a two-month span, according to court records.
Mark Moore, 47, had been charged with one felony county of second-degree robbery and a sentencing enhancement for using a gun for bank robberies committed in December and January. He

Mayor Chris Hamm will speak at the city’s 31st annual Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast on Tuesday at the San Clemente Community Center. The two-hour program, courtesy of the San Clemente Kiwanis Club, will include opening remarks by Kiwanis Club president Paul Littlepage, music by the San Clemente High School Madrigals and speeches fr

In last week’s story, wealthy cattleman Lewis Moulton marries Nellie Gail, a schoolteacher 24 years his junior. They have two daughters, Charlotte and Louise, who grow up loving the Niguel Ranch as much as their father.
During the early 1900s, life on the 22,000-acre ranch is a romantic idyll for the Moulton family, as well as Lewi

That old saying that the heart of a home is the kitchen now applies to the office, too.Companies are making kitchens and in-office dining areas the hub of their workplaces to help employees meet and mingle, boost morale – and, oh yeah, feed people.The trend is evident from photos and descriptions I rec

Thousands of mini crabs — which actually look like tiny lobsters or crawfish — created a rim of red along the shoreline, scattered on the sand along the sleepy seaside of Balboa Island in Newport Beach. Most washed up dead at high tide, but some were still alive and swimming near the shoreline.The Pleuroncodes planipes, a

Ed Mixon, a San Clemente resident recently named volunteer of the year for the Armed Services YMCA at Camp Pendleton, says it’s a rewarding experience that he recommends others try. A volunteer since 2007, he is one of 127 who help ease the stresses of military life on active-duty personnel and their families through after-school ac

As much as some San Clemente residents may like their town being the best-kept secret in Orange County, that secret is out.
An article posted in Sunset Magazine titled "One Perfect Day in San Clemente" offers a few simple tips on just how to enjoy one of Orange County's true jewels, tucked along the co

A ballot measure seeking to block the state’s plastic bag ban qualified for the ballot Tuesday, delaying the scheduled July 1 launch of the law until voters have their say.Even if voters uphold the ban, the delay to November 2016 would allow as many as 9 billion additional plastic bags to be sold.The ban, approved b

Four years after embarking on an ambitious quest to complete marathons on all seven continents, Beth Sanden finally has checked off the last, and most difficult, challenge on her list: Antarctica.Sanden, who was left partially paralyzed after a cycling accident in 2002, pedaled the Antarctic Marathon on a specially designed handcycle

While paleontologists are studying ancient fossils unearthed by grading a path for a $73 million Orange County road extension, workers continue to carve the 2.27-mile route that will link San Juan Capistrano with San Clemente. The La Pata Gap Closure, as it is known, is on schedule, even with occasional pauses to safely recover fossil fin